Not content with the questionable strategy – not to mention thoughtful gift to David Cameron – of our insisting on the extension of 50% tax band indefinitely, Ed Balls has now indicated in a Progress interview that he is thinking about implementing one of his leadership campaign planks as well, and lowering the threshold of the band. Now, I have no doubt… Continue reading Tax: it’s the politics, stupid
Author: robert.marchant
Faith schools: a bad idea just got worse
God knows (if you’ll forgive the expression) what goes on in Michael Gove’s head. In politics, quotas are rarely a good idea at the best of times, but his removal of the 20% cap on teacher recruitment on grounds of religion has got to be a terrible idea, even for him. In short, he is saying that… Continue reading Faith schools: a bad idea just got worse
Labour must speak not only for organised labour
As predictable headlines follow Ed Miliband committing to speak at the TUC rally on March 26th, it’s useful to take a more detached look at how the relationships between Party, movement and workplace demographics interact. Let’s not be daft – no-one sensible is saying that Labour is “in the pocket of the unions”; however, it is not a particularly wild claim that… Continue reading Labour must speak not only for organised labour
So, the alternative to Cameron’s vision: we’re offering what, exactly?
David Cameron has many failings, but he is patently not a racist. There may just remain a few old Powellites in his party rank and file but largely, whether we like it or not, accusations of latent racism no longer dog the Tories. And it may just be, paradoxically, Cameron’s Saturday speech was more of… Continue reading So, the alternative to Cameron’s vision: we’re offering what, exactly?
Labour in Helmand: Operation Overreach?
Things like this make me wrestle with myself. My instinct as an activist is to be supportive and I feel like we all need cheering on. But I also need to understand why this trip was a good idea. I felt uncomfortable watching the footage of Labour’s Afghanistan trip and I have this uneasy feeling… Continue reading Labour in Helmand: Operation Overreach?
Reflections on a brilliant (Shadow) Chancellor
He has always been seen as a heavyweight and a bruiser. He has experience of the Treasury at the highest level and was well-respected there. He is ferociously intelligent, one of the brightest of all his Oxford contemporaries who, famously, does not suffer fools gladly. And, despite failing in his bid to be elected leader,… Continue reading Reflections on a brilliant (Shadow) Chancellor
Can we please just ignore the Lib Dems?
While recent headlines may have all but obliterated from memory Ed’s recent Fabians speech, it is also worth lingering on his more prescriptive, post-Oldham Guardian article from the day before. If Ed did not go as far as Neal Lawson did and metaphorically throw open the gates of Victoria Street to Lib Dem members to… Continue reading Can we please just ignore the Lib Dems?
Time, experience and normality: Labour’s real loss
There are – thankfully – some positives we can glean from all of this. There is the fact that Balls can now bring his undoubted talent and expertise to the economic brief. There is also the fact that Johnson and Miliband were clearly not seeing eye-to-eye and there is now the opportunity for a new… Continue reading Time, experience and normality: Labour’s real loss
Soft left or soft thinking? a response to Neal Lawson
In these uneasy days for Labour, there has surely been a renaissance of the Kinnockite “soft left”, excited by Ed Miliband’s victory. Fair enough, you say. But so far the thinking emanating from this renaissance seems not just woolly, but dangerously flawed. A case in point is the article posted in last week’s Guardian by… Continue reading Soft left or soft thinking? a response to Neal Lawson
The battle for Labour’s past: you are all right
Last week was the week when we – finally – dealt with head-on the subject of Labour’s economic legacy. And we seem to have been debating it ever since, because it’s perhaps the most important subject which will define a lot of the next 4 years. It’s complex, as Steve Richards argues and, paradoxically, there… Continue reading The battle for Labour’s past: you are all right